Red Phoenix

‘…snaky.’
    ‘You are very cold-blooded,’ the stone said.
    ‘Yes,’ I agreed reluctantly.
    ‘You love a turtle. A reptile,’ the stone continued. ‘You are a perfect match for each other.’
    ‘Yes.’ I could see where this was going.
    ‘You are strong and fast and can be completely merciless when your loved ones are threatened.’
    ‘I yield,’ I said softly. ‘I see your point.’
    ‘What was your pet in Australia?’
    ‘Now you’re just rubbing it in.’
    ‘Have I escaped the Hong Kong tour?’ the stone said.
    ‘Tell me when Lord Xuan will emerge and I may think about it,’ I said.
    ‘Give him some time. He is in great pain,’ the stone said. ‘Do not let the storms hit him directly in future, please, my Lady. He is too proud to tell you, but he is suffering greatly. It built up gradually before the eye hit and he could deal with it. But after the eye, it all hit him at the same time and it was excruciating for him. It will take him more energy to withdraw from the tumult than it would have taken for him to move the typhoon in the first place. But he was too proud to admit that he was suffering so horribly.’
    ‘Thank you, stone, you can be really valuable when you want to be. He was just looking for an excuse when he said he’d move it for school, and I should have seen that.’
    ‘You are very wise, Lady Emma, and that is another aspect of your serpent nature,’ the stone said. ‘Ask Lord Xuan about it. The nature of serpents. There is a great deal of depth to them. Many very positive aspects. Wisdom, healing, great strength and power. Dragons are serpents too, my Lady. To be a serpent is not necessarily a bad thing. Remember that your own true love is half Serpent himself.’
    ‘Now you are being extremely wise. Thanks. I feel a million times better.’
    The stone shot the question quickly at me. ‘Even ifyou were a serpent, could you ever hurt Simone, or Leo, or John?’
    ‘Never,’ I said firmly. ‘And that’s all that matters.’
    ‘See? Wise. Ah Yat has made some breakfast. Go and eat, and then I suggest you take a nap while you wait for the other reptile to return. You were up awfully early this morning, and you are very tired.’
    ‘Yes, Mother,’ I said with a smile.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
    I woke up drowsy and dehydrated. I wandered out to find something to drink. I went into the kitchen; Leo sat at the table with some coffee. His eyes were swollen, making them appear even smaller; he’d been asleep too. ‘Is everybody okay?’ I said.
    He nodded a reply. ‘Simone’s still sleeping. Mr Chen is asleep too. All the signals have been lowered. Things are starting to get back to normal.’
    ‘Tea, my Lady?’ Ah Yat said.
    I nodded. ‘Sow mei, please, a whole pot.’
    Ah Yat busied herself with the teapot.
    ‘Mr Chen said not to worry about what Simone said, it was normal,’ Leo said. ‘He said that she’d opened her Inner Eye or something like that, and that she could see inside people.’
    Ah Yat gave me the tea and I nodded my thanks. I poured for myself. ‘The stone in my ring said the same thing.’
    Leo glanced at me sharply. ‘Then why did Simone see you as a snake?’
    ‘The stone thinks I have a snake totem.’
    ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ Leo demanded, his voice slurring more than usual.
    ‘Haven’t you ever heard of the concept of a totem?’ I said. ‘Oh come on, Leo, you’re joking, right?’
    He just shook his head. He didn’t smile.
    I decided to be brisk and scientific about it. ‘Certain cultures believe that people can have animal spirits that either dwell inside them or alongside them, that guide and protect them. They have a special affinity to that animal.’ I eyed Leo sideways. ‘Black Lion.’
    ‘That’s just a stupid nickname the demons thought up, ‘cause they don’t like the fact that I’m a perfectly ordinary human who can take them down,’ Leo said. ‘Nothing more. Certainly not one of these totem things.’
    The stone in the ring broke in. ‘You are courageous in the face of overwhelming odds. You protect your family against any attacker. You travel alone, without a partner. You are without peer as a warrior. And you are as black as night. You are a Black Lion, Leo. You even bear the name.’
    ‘They call me the Lion because of the stupid name,’ Leo said. ‘I wish my mother had never gone through that stupid astrology phase.’
    ‘Your star sign is Leo as well?’ I said,